We've been following Ryan Shaw's Tesla Model Y ownership since he first took delivery. So far, so good. However, that can't be said now. Poor Shaw had only owned his new Tesla crossover for two months. He loves the car and works hard to take very good care of it. Sadly, no matter how well you care for your car, there are situations that are out of your control, like a large rock breaking your windshield.

Sometimes, when a rock cracks a windshield, it can be repaired, however, this was not the case with this Model Y windshield, at least according to Tesla. Instead, Shaw learned that a full replacement was the only option, and it would cost over $1,300. The windshield itself costs over $800.

Since Shaw's auto insurance has a $1,000 deductible, he's going to have to pay for most of the replacement out of pocket. So, he looks into having it repaired even though Tesla said it couldn't be done. Fortunately, Safelite will repair it for $80, though it's just going to be a temporary fix. The crack is too deep to properly fix, but it isn't in an area that obstructs Shaw's view, so he can get away with it for a time. Eventually, he'll still have to have the whole windshield replaced. 

Check out the video and description below for all the details. Then, scroll down and leave us a comment.

Video Description via Ryan Shaw on YouTube:

The $1,337.85 Tesla Model Y Windshield

After just two months of owning my Tesla Model Y, I had an incident, and my entire windshield needs to be replaced!

So the Tesla Model Y is the nicest car I’ve ever owned, and of course, I’m taking great care of it, as you probably saw in my Model Y review video, and then this happened…a giant rock hit, and cracked the windshield!

My soul! Not even 2 months of Model Y ownership, and a deep crack. I will need a fairly substantial Model Y Repair.

I had mixed replies on twitter, but the one that really hurt said:
“A $1300-1400 windshield replacement. That’s your only option”

So I checked with Tesla Insurance and filed the claim right away.

Tesla service quoted me $1337.85 for the windshield replacement, and according to them, it looked bad enough to only be a replacement. The breakdown of that cost is $830 for the windshield itself, $429 for the labor, and $78.85 for tax.

Unfortunately, at this point, that’s literally the only option for a replacement. Satellite doesn’t carry the windshield, and this car has only been out for around 2 months

I followed up with my insurance, and as it turns out, my policy is a $1000 deductible for a windshield replacement.

Now of course, it’s my fault that I didn’t have better coverage on my insurance, but honestly, if I had really been more detailed when getting my policy, and paid more attention to the deductible for a windshield replacement, I probably would have opted to keep it at $1000. I’ve never had a windshield issue, and would have never expected this to happen, especially this early in my ownership.

So I’m looking at $1000.

The good news about this crack is the location of it. While I can see it at any time, it isn’t distracting or right in front of me obstructing my view. It’s frustrating, but doesn’t actually affect my view of the road.

Because of that, and the fact that I don’t want to pay $1000 right now, I followed up with my insurance again, and double checked that a repair is an option, if possible.

So I checked with Safelite, probably the biggest chain of glass repair stores out there. I went to their website which said that as long as it’s smaller than a dollar bill, it should be repairable. I took it in for Model Y service the next day.

After two technicians looked at it and gave it a bad face, mentioning how deep the crack is, they told me they’d be able to repair it, but it’ll be a bandaid that you can still see. The crack is too deep, and no matter what they do, I’ll still be able to see it.

They filled the crack with their normal process.

According to their website it should repair it to “near-imperceptibility”, but I wasn’t counting on that with mine, and I was right.

Afterwards it definitely looks better, and feels smooth to the touch, but you can definitely see the crack. You can see the center of the crack, where the rock landed is clear and filled in, but the spider pattern is still there.

This repair ended up costing $80, which my insurance will cover, and it should make the crack stronger, and less likely to get worse anytime soon. As I mentioned though, it’s clear that I will have to get this replaced, and that this is just a bandaid for the meantime. I’m hoping to get at least 6 months or so out of it.

My decision then will be whether to go with Satellite for the replacement? Or go through Tesla service. I’m inclined to choose Tesla service since they know their cars, but Safelite seems like it could be a good deal cheaper, with the Tesla Model 3 windshield quote being around $500 less than the Model Y windshield quote from Tesla.

For the future, here’s what I have learned, and what I would recommend to you if you have or plan to get a Model Y.

Get 100% glass coverage on your Tesla Model Y Insurance coverage

If this were to happen to you, make sure to grab the license plate of the truck the rock came from.

Then, make sure you have a dashcam drive installed, and save that dashcam footage right away by tapping the button in the top right of the screen.

It’s visual proof for your insurance that this was indeed a non-collision incident, and not your fault whatsoever.

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